Brilliant Sutherland inspires Vics to another fightback

Will Sutherland has spurred another Victorian fightback after a disappointing first innings batting effort to help keep hopes of their first victory of the Marsh Sheffield Shield alive.

With both Victoria and NSW still winless this season as the six teams prepare to pause their campaigns for two months for KFC BBL|12 following this fixture, the visitors appeared in the box seat of securing their first win of the summer after rolling the Vics for 209 on the opening day.

Veteran Moises Henriques and young gun Jason Sangha (44) had batted NSW in a strong position at lunch on the second day at the Junction Oval, trailing Victoria by just 53 runs with seven wickets in hand.

It was a chaotic morning for the hosts, who lost wicketkeeper Sam Harper to Covid before the start of day two, before veteran tweaker Jon Holland was subbed out at lunch after falling ill to the virus, with Matt Short and Ruwantha Kellapotha coming in as replacements.

Sutherland (4-57) intervened first with the ball to remove Sangha and then in the field moments after lunch, pouncing on a ball that both Henriques and his batting partner Matthew Gilkes (2) thought was heading to long-on for a comfortable single.

The 23-year-old allrounder's athleticism caught them of both off guard, with Sutherland diving full stretch at mid-wicket to stop the ball before having the poise to throw to the 'keeper's end where skipper Peter Handscomb gleefully completed the run out with Gilkes short of his ground.

The right-armer then removed the new batter Sean Abbott (1) caught behind 14 balls later as NSW lost 3-7 to slip to 5-162.

Henriques steadied the ship with Baxter Holt (23) before he was outfoxed by emerging off-spinner Todd Murphy three short of a century, who took 3-44 on his return to the side after representing the Prime Minister's XI against the West Indies last week.

After surviving a close lbw shout the ball prior, Henriques stepped across the pitch attempting to sweep to the leg side, but Murphy speared a quicker ball in at the stumps, trapping the former NSW captain in front on 97.

Chris Tremain lifted the NSW lead to 51 with a quickfire 24no, which included two fours and a six, before Sutherland returned to close out the innings with his fourth wicket of Mickey Edwards (12).

"To fight back from where we were at lunchtime to the end of the day, I think that's a credit to everyone for just hanging in there," Murphy said post play on day two.

"I think run outs always do change the momentum of games, so for Sutho (Sutherland) to pull off that bit of brilliance, it got the boys up and about and going, which was really good.

"If you said to us at lunchtime we would have a 27-run lead at the end of the day, the blokes wouldn't have believed you.

"The mood is definitely different to this morning and at lunchtime. I think everyone knows there's still going to be two tough days ahead of us but hopefully we can bat really well and bat big and then try and do something special on the last day."

Travis Dean (46) found some form and he and opening partner Ashley Chandrasinghe (24no) overturned the first innings deficit before Handscomb (6no) negotiated the hosts safely to stumps with a lead of 27 runs with nine wickets remaining.

"We had an opportunity to bury the game and make sure that the Vics didn't get a bat until halfway through tomorrow, but unfortunately we missed that and a credit to the Victorian bowlers for hanging in there," Henriques said.

"Will, Ferg (Fergus O'Neill) and Murph just kept coming and kept asking you to bat well; we got a little lead and we got in front a little bit but probably not as much as we should have.

"There's still two days of cricket left and we're still in a strong position; a couple of early wickets tomorrow and we're back ahead but it's hard not to feel like something slipped today."